Furniture Mart opens uptown expansion

Sitting on a couch near the entrance of the new Central Iowa Furniture Mart building Tuesday, co-owner Ed Thompson gestured toward the sofas, recliners and dressers around him.

“Would you believe all this furniture has been in a storage unit?” he asked.

Tuesday was opening day at Thompson’s new store building, which is located at 124 N. Maple St. The space, which Thompson estimates is 5,000 square feet, now allows him to show his inventory of furniture in a setting that isn’t cramped.

“If you go in and look at it and it’s all crammed together and you can’t hardly sit onto it, don’t have room to move around, it makes it hard to show and sell,” he said. “This way I can spread it out.”

Ed and his wife, Anna, first opened Central Iowa Furniture Mart LLC in Osceola and moved to uptown Creston in 1991. Anna, who co-owns the company with Ed, said the couple had recently been looking to move more inventory that was in storage but was having trouble finding something in their price range. Ed then heard the North Maple building, formerly occupied by God's's Outreach Deliverance Church, would be up for lease.

“This came open at a real good time,” Anna said.

Ed said it took him and a few others about a week to move in all the furniture prior to Tuesday’s opening. And less than two hours after opening his doors, Ed was already seeing the benefit.

“The fellow that was in here (earlier), I showed him seven different full-size beds,” Ed said. “Up to the other place, I could only show him one.”

Central Iowa Furniture Mart’s other property, located across the street at 109 N. Maple St., will remain open and continue offering its selection of gift items, cards, pictures, lamps and appliances. All calls will also go through this store at the same phone number: 641-782-2829.

In the future, the Thompsons said they plan to expand the offerings at both locations, now that they have the space.

An open house for the new building will be 10 a.m. Sept. 15.